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| Disturbing elements cause tension around the main image of the androgynous main character on this poster for Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park |
Alex is a young skater with a disintegrating family in Portland, Oregon. One night he becomes guilty of accidental manslaughter. What does he do?
Paranoid Park is written, directed and edited by Kentuckian master filmmaker Gus Van Sant (Mala Noche (1986)), whose 12th feature it is. It is based on the same-titled 2006 novel by Blake Shelton (Gender Blender (2006)).
Van Sant has such a keen sense of the lives of the young, and he makes the experiences portrayed here important simply by slowing things down and adding music.
Gabe Nevins (The Curio (2015)) is an underplaying find in the lead role. One scene with Alex and his father is ruined, when the latter comes into focus and amateur actor Jay Williamson's poor performance stands out.
Paranoid Park is beautifully photographed (by Christopher Doyle (The White Girl (2017)) and Rain Li (Uncertainty (2008))), and particularly the death scene is strong. SPOILER The ending is unsatisfying: The film's point evaporates, as it seems that Alex manages with his secret? Somehow unsatisfying.
Related posts:
Gus Van Sant: Promised Land (2012) or, Let's Get Your Small Town A-fracka-lackin'!
2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: Best 'box office success' movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Elephant (2003) - Van Sant's masterpiece about an unbearable crime
1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Good Will Hunting (1997) or, The Genius Idiot
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 3 mil. $
Box office: 4.5 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.5 times its cost)
[Paranoid Park premiered in March (Hong Kong International Film Festival) and runs 84 minutes. Van Sant wrote the first draft in 2 days. The final draft was just 33 pages long. He held an open audition advertised through a Myspace page, and nearly 3,000 youths auditioned. Shooting took place around October 2006 in Oregon, including in Portland. The film opened #62 to a 29k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #42 and in 37 theaters (different weekends), grossing 486k $ (10.8 % of the total gross). North America was its 2nd biggest market. France was the biggest with 1.8 mil. $ (40 %), and Italy was the 3rd biggest with 941k $ (20.9 %). The film won 1/3 Independent Spirit award nominations and an award at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was in the main competition, lost to 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, among other honors. Van Sant returned with To Each His Own Cinema (2007, segment) and 8 (2008, segment) before his own theatrical return with Milk (2008). Nevins returned in Wendy and Lucy (2008). Paranoid Park is certified fresh at 77 % with a 7.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Paranoid Park?
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